Attack of the Twofer: BlackBerry Briefly Outsells iPhone
Yes, it’s true. Just like CrackBerry’s reporting. According to NPD (via Engadget), the oldest remaining version of the BlackBerry Curve, when heavily discounted and given away in two-for-one promo deals, briefly regained the #1 best seller position on the smartphone index from the iPhone 3G, which had to settle for a high-margin #2. Also, discounted and given away two-for-one, when combined with heavy marketing and the power and reach of the Verizon network… did not. BlackBerry Storm was #3.
Cutting margins and giving away product may pad the numbers, but as Palm found out with the Centro, you can’t make “zero” up on volume.
May 5th, 2009 at 6:58 am
RIM isn’t necessarily the company losing margin, they are likely carrier deals to keep from losing customers. Also keep in mind that RIM’s core business the enterprise helps margins since they typically will invest in BlackBerry infrastructure on top of their handset investments.
May 5th, 2009 at 7:28 am
If they were giving out “iPhone Lite” when you purchase an iPhone, I bet the results could be quiet a bit different.
May 5th, 2009 at 8:11 am
What gives? Why the bashful post here? Am I missing something? LOL
May 5th, 2009 at 9:41 am
Really now, RIM is handing these phones out for free? Since when did VZW stop paying RIM upfront and changing the price it sees fit via 2 yr contract?
May 5th, 2009 at 10:23 am
RIM was 1,3, and 4.
Price matters as does functionality.
Hopefully this will bring down the prices of the iphones. apple is running into pressure on all its lines on price right now. netbooks are hurting them too as they have become the number one selling computer type on the market.
maybe this will end the price gouging we’ve seen
May 5th, 2009 at 11:52 am
so it takes RIM how many phone models to compete against the iPhone? and only 1 model succeeded when they tossed the storm for free.
I hope RIM doesn’t consider this “success”.
May 5th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Well, do I sense some spite in this blog post? :p
May 6th, 2009 at 1:41 am
You conveniently left out how Apple’s Marketshare dropped 10% and RIM’s grew by 15%.
Not sure why the author of this blog post is attempting to damage control the undeniably impressive sales success that is the BlackBerry brand of devices.
Sometimes it’s easier to admit defeat and suck it up as opposed to being so dismissive of it. When Apple gets back on top, I’m sure we won’t see any damage control or weak excuses for why Apple is on top and the others aren’t.
May 6th, 2009 at 5:28 am
@Frank that would not make a diffence I think people expect more from iPhone them they buy it
May 6th, 2009 at 5:30 am
@Mike I think of u have a problem with this blog maybe u should leave of and leave Rene Ritchie alone.You try writting all these blogs a day.
May 6th, 2009 at 10:42 am
@derrick I doubt that Rene does this out of the kindness of his heart: It appears to be a job. He’s making representations here on his website and it behooves him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but.
You can argue with Mike about whether or not Rene’s article is misleading, but it’s silly to tell him to “leave Rene Ritchie alone.” If someone feels that the journalists here are being dishonest, or have simply made a mistake, it’s certainly their right to say so. Why don’t you argue Mike’s point rather than arguing with whether he has the right to make it?
And before you tell me that I, too, have a “problem with this site.” It’s true. I don’t like the writing. I think it’s frequently misleading and heavily slanted. And I love my iPhone overall more than my Blackberry. I’m just a fan of opinion bolstered by objective truth.
May 6th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
He also left out the part about RIM now having over 50% of the smart phone market. The iphone has, and always will have, its’ core crowd that will wave the Apple flag no matter what. Some drink from a bigger class of KoolAid than others. And before it gets said, I have a 3G and a Bold. I bought the 3G for the hype, and the Bold because of what it does. You can “app store” all you want, but at the end of the day, it IS THE PHONE that matters. Now, if the 3.0 upgrade fixes all of the short comings that the 3G suffers from, I may have to carry it again. Right now, it is a toy for my 2 year old. Which shows how easy it is to operate. Just too bad it lacks so much.